This invention relates generally to a woodburning heating apparatus and in particular to an airtight woodburning heating apparatus employing horizontal combustion.
As the price of oil and gas fuels increases, more and more households are turning to woodburning apparatus to provide at least a portion and in some circumstances all of the heat for a dwelling. In some instances fireplaces are used. However the fireplace is an inefficient heater; and in response to the increased demand for woodburning heating apparatus, a myriad of woodburning stoves have been designed and manufactured.
One class of particularly efficient woodburning stoves are those stoves which have controlled air inlets. These stoves, often termed airtight, can have many different configurations. Two of the airtight stoves which are particularly successful, are capable of operating using horizontal combustion. They are the Vigilant and the Defiant, both manufactured by Vermont Castings, Inc., Randolph, Vt., the assignee of this application. The Vigilant and the Defiant are both relatively large heating apparatus having heat outputs, at maximum burning capacity, of about 45,000 and 55,000 BTU's respectively. This large heat output, while desirable for heating large volumes, clearly can overpower the typical "family room" or "den" in which the stoves are often placed. As a result, it is desirable to produce a smaller version of a horizontal combustion apparatus.
Most practically, one would simply reduce the dimensions of either the Vigilant or the Defiant to produce a stove having a smaller wood capacity, smaller dimensions, and a lower heat output. Unfortunately, however, as the size of the stove is reduced, designs which are satisfactory in a large stove present major problems, because, for example, parts are much closer to one another and to the primary combustion chamber of the apparatus. As a result, it is not acceptable to merely reduce the dimensions of already existing stoves in order to meet the need of a smaller, efficient, long lasting, and reliably made stove.
An object of this invention is therefore a heating apparatus having a reduced maximum heat output, and which is long lasting, reliable, practical and efficient. Other objects of the invention are a heating apparatus wherein the user can service the apparatus, and which can be reliably manufactured with minimum cost.